Boston bombing suspects' uncle: Motivation was hatred

An uncle of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects who lives in Maryland made an impassioned plea Friday for the youngest of the two to turn himself in, calling the boys "losers" and saying he would have turned them in himself if he could have.

Officials confirmed Friday that the name of the bombing suspect who was killed in a gun battle with police in Massachusetts overnight is Tamerlan Tsarnaev. He is the older brother of Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, 19, who authorities are currently searching for in a massive manhunt that's shut down the city of Boston.

Ruslan Tsarni, of Montgomery Village, Montgomery County, told WBAL-TV in Baltimore that the brothers were born in Kyrgyzstan, a Russian region near Chechnya, and lived together in Cambridge, Mass. Tsarni said he hasn't seen them since 2009 and hadn't talked to the family in months.

Tsarni said the suspects' family had been in the U.S. since 2003 and received asylum, settling in the Cambridge area. He said his brother -- the suspects' father -- moved back to Russia recently.

FBI and police began interviewing Tsarni and his family early Friday. In front of reporters, Tsarni pleaded with Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to turn himself in.

"Dzhokhar, if you're alive, turn yourself in and ask for forgiveness from the victims, from the injured, and from those who loved," he said.

When asked what he thought provoked the men, he said, "Being losers -- hatred to those who were able to settle themselves. These are the only reasons I can imagine. Anything else to do with religion or Islam -- it's a fraud. It's a fake. … They put that shame on the entire Chechyn ethnicity."

WBAL-TV reported that by hatred, Tsarni meant self-hatred not for the U.S. but for not being able to achieve what they wanted.

Tsarni said his family immediate arrived in the U.S. and settled in Maryland in 2005. He said his family has nothing to do with the family of the suspects.

"Of course we're ashamed. They're children of my brother, who had little influence on them, as much as I know, " he said. "I respect this country. I love this country. This country gives chances to everybody else to be treated as a human being."

Tsarni said he did not know if the men were involved in any sort of military training.

WBAL-TV reported that according to Tsarni, the men's father described Dzhokhar Tsarnaev as "very smart and very resourceful."

WBAL-TV reported that there are also other family members in the suburban community of Montgomery Village and that neighbors were shocked by the developments. The station said Tsarni and his family were thought of highly in the neighborhood and were hard-working people.

The dual bombings at the Boston Marathon on Monday killed three people and injured more than 170, several critically.

Copyright 2013 by WBALTV.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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